Best time

March–late June

Caribou Spring Migration Featured in

The spring caribou migration throughout Alaska is considered one of the most impressive wildlife phenomena in this part of the world. Around 200,000 animals move to the north each year; such migration starts in March and lasts until late June.

Bob Wick / BLM

The caribou divide into big groups, so during this period you can see even tens of thousands of animals at one spot. They​ follow three major routes: the Richardson, Barn, and the British Mountains​, the Old Crow route which crosses the Porcupine River ​near the settlement of Old Crow, and the Arctic Village route which crosses the East Fork of the Chandler River. Those routes run through endless tundra ridges, so spring caribou migration is even more spectacular.